ÍøÆغÚÁÏ

The Florestan Trio has established a reputation as one of the finest piano trios in the world. In its first decade, the group has made 14 recordings on the Hyperion label, all of which received Gramophone nominations. Its concerts at home -- typically at London's major concert halls and festivals -- and abroad (numerous tours of Europe, the United States, Israel, South America, Japan, and Australia) have drawn enthusiastic receptions from critics and public alike. The trio's repertory encompasses works by Mozart, Dvorák, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, the complete trios of Beethoven and Brahms, and numerous modern compositions commissioned from contemporary composers such as Judith Weir, Peteris Vasks, Sally Beamish, and others.

The Florestan Trio was formed in 1995 in London. That year the piano quartet Domus disbanded, and that group's pianist Susan Tomes and its cellist Richard Lester, together with violinist Anthony Marwood, formed the Florestan Trio, instantly arousing the interest of chamber music aficionados in England and abroad. Tomes has also concurrently served as a member of the Gaudier Ensemble since 1989 and has frequently appeared as soloist, recitalist, and accompanist in other concert venues. The ensemble's two string players have also established successful parallel careers as soloists, recitalists, and accompanists.

The Florestan's earliest concerts were critical successes and within a year its first recording was issued on Hyperion, the E minor and F minor trios of Dvorák. The second, the Brahms trios, was issued the following year with similar success, and by the turn of the century the ensemble had become regarded as one of Britain's most respected piano trios, not least because it became the first piano trio to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for chamber music in 2000.

Beethoven has played a key role in the group's success: in 2001 the Florestan Trio launched a cycle of the complete trios of Beethoven for Hyperion Records, which was concluded in 2004 with the D major and E major trios on Vol. 4. In 2002 the group's debut tour of the United States featured highly praised performances of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

The ensemble returned to the United States for a second tour in 2004 and scored similar success. Later recordings include three Mozart trios (K. 502, K. 542, K. 564) on Hyperion.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was not only one of the greatest composers of the Classical period, but one of the greatest of all time. Surprisingly, he is not identified with radical formal or harmonic innovations, or with the profound kind of symbolism heard in some of Bach's works. Mozart's best music has a natural flow and irresistible charm, and can express humor, joy or sorrow with both conviction and mastery. His operas, especially his later efforts, are brilliant examples of high art, as are many of his piano concertos and later symphonies. Even his lesser compositions and juvenile works feature much attractive and often masterful music.

Mozart was the last of seven children, of whom five did not survive early childhood. By the age of three he was playing the clavichord, and at four he began writing short compositions. Young Wolfgang gave his first public performance at the age of five at Salzburg University, and in January 1762, he performed on harpsichord for the Elector of Bavaria. There are many astonishing accounts of the young Mozart's precocity and genius. At the age of seven, for instance, he picked up a violin at a musical gathering and sight-read the second part of a work with complete accuracy, despite his never having had a violin lesson.

In the years 1763-1766, Mozart, along with his father Leopold, a composer and musician, and sister Nannerl, also a musically talented child, toured London, Paris, and other parts of Europe, giving many successful concerts and performing before royalty. The Mozart family returned to Salzburg in November 1766. The following year young Wolfgang composed his first opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus. Keyboard concertos and other major works also came from his pen.

In 1769, Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court by the Archbishop. Beginning that same year, the Mozarts made three tours of Italy, where the young composer studied Italian opera and produced two successful efforts, Mitridate and Lucio Silla. In 1773, Mozart was back in Austria, where he spent most of the next few years composing. He wrote all his violin concertos between 1774 and 1777, as well as Masses, symphonies, and chamber works.

In 1780, Mozart wrote his opera Idomeneo, which became a sensation in Munich. After a conflict with the Archbishop, Mozart left his Konzertmeister post and settled in Vienna. He received a number of commissions and took on a well-paying but unimportant Court post. In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber and took her to Salzburg the following year to introduce her to his family. 1782 was also the year that saw his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail staged with great success.

In 1784, Mozart joined the Freemasons, apparently embracing the teachings of that group. He would later write music for certain Masonic lodges. In the early and mid-1780s, Mozart composed many sonatas and quartets, and often appeared as soloist in the 15 piano concertos he wrote during this period. Many of his commissions were for operas now, and Mozart met them with a string of masterpieces. Le nozze di Figaro came 1786, Don Giovanni in 1787, Così fan tutte in 1790, and Die Zauberflöte in 1791. Mozart made a number of trips in his last years, and while his health had been fragile in previous times, he displayed no serious condition or illness until he developed a fever of unknown origin near the end of 1791. ~ Robert Cummings